An ice maker is an apparatus for cooling water to a temperature below zero degrees Celsius, freezing point, producing ice, and supplying the ice to a user. Such an ice maker is provided in a refrigerator requiring an ice producing function, a water purifier having an ice maker, or the like.
Examples of the ice maker may include an immersion-type ice maker immersing, an immersion member having a refrigerant flowing therein in water and producing ice on the immersion member, a spray-type ice maker spraying water into an ice making mold provided with a cooling unit, such as an evaporator having a refrigerant flowing therein, and producing ice in the ice making mold, or a flow-type ice maker in which water flows into an ice making mold provided with a cooling unit, such as an evaporator having a refrigerant flowing therein, and producing ice in the ice making mold.
Forms of ice produced in the ice maker may be varied, according to forms of an ice making mold provided therein. For example, angular ice or rounded ice may be produced according to forms of an ice making mold. Also, spherical ice may be produced by providing an ice making mold in a form of a sphere or a hemisphere.
Accordingly, in the conventional art, there arises an issue in that an ice making mold needs to be provided in a form corresponding to a form of ice desired to be produced. For example, in order to produce rounded ice without edges, a rounded ice making mold needs to be used. In particular, in order to produce spherical ice, an ice making mold in a form of a sphere or a hemisphere needs to be involved.
As such, the use of such an ice making mold is essential in order to produce various types of ice, for example, rounded ice without edges or spherical ice. Thus, in order to produce rounded ice without edges or spherical ice, a cumbersome ice maker having a relatively complex configuration may be required, since water needs to be held in an ice making mold having a rounded, spherical, or hemispherical form.
Accordingly, a disadvantage of the ice maker according to the conventional art is that ice may not be easily produced in various forms.